Jones: disgraced

Disgraced sprinter Marion Jones has been handed a two-year ban and returned the five medals she won at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, days after admitting to the use of a prohibited substance.

The medals, three golds - including two for the 100 and 200 metres - and two bronzes, were relinquished by the 31-year-old on Monday, three days after she pleaded guilty to lying about her use of banned drugs to US government investigators.

“She apologises to her competitors and hopes the record books will be amended to accurately reflect their achievements,” an unidentified source close to Jones said.

Jones had appeared at the US District Court court to face two charges of lying to federal agents in 2003 about her use of steroids.

Retirement

The two-year ban - a lifelong sanction had been a possibility - comes despite Jones having also announced her retirement from the sport following Friday’s hearing.

New York attorney Henry DePippo, one of Jones’s legal representatives, confirmed that the medals had been returned.

However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which had indicated it would seek to strip Jones of her medals, could not confirm that they had indeed been handed over.

An IOC official added: “The procedure would be for the medals to be returned to the United States Olympic Committee and then they would come to us.”

After years of rumour surrounding her successes, Jones finally admitted on Friday to using a steroid called tetrahydrogestrinone, or THG, between September 2000 and July 2001.

Prohibited

The drug is prohibited under the rules of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

However, Jones claimed she was initially ignorant of the actions of her then coach Trevor Graham.

“By November 2003, I realized that what Graham had given to me was a performance-enhancing drug,” she said at the hearing.

“I have let my country down, and I have let myself down. It is with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you I have betrayed your trust.

“I recognize that by saying I’m deeply sorry, it might not be enough and sufficient to address the pain and hurt that I’ve caused you.”

Jones faces up to six months in jail under a plea agreement with prosecutors and will be sentenced in January.

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Tags: Athletics, Jones, returns, medals

Posted on February 3rd, 2007 by Klaus Roe
Filed under: Athletics, Olympics 2012, Fun and Games